Let’s be real. If you mentions the Top Gear US Special to any petrolhead, they aren't thinking about the Chrysler building or the Hollywood sign. They’re thinking about a frantic, terrifying escape toward the Florida-Alabama border with a mob of angry locals in hot pursuit. It was 2007. Series 9, Episode 3.
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were sent to the Deep South with a simple, albeit cheap, mission. Buy a car for $1,000 and drive from Miami to New Orleans. It sounded like a standard road trip. It turned into a cultural collision that almost got the film crew lynched.
Honestly, it’s the moment Top Gear stopped being just a car show. It became a global phenomenon because it felt dangerous. Because it was dangerous.
The $1,000 Junkers that Started it All
The premise was classic Top Gear. The producers gave the trio a grand each. In Miami, that doesn't buy you much more than a headache on wheels.
Clarkson ended up with a 1991 Chevrolet Camaro RS. It was a dog. The roof leaked, the engine groaned, and it looked like it had been lived in by several generations of raccoons. Hammond went for a 1991 Dodge Ram 1500, which is basically the official vehicle of rural America. James May, being James May, chose a 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood. It was enormous. It was beige. It was remarkably slow.
They headed West.
The heat was oppressive. None of the air conditioning units worked. Clarkson’s Camaro was missing a window, meaning he was basically being slow-cooked in the Florida humidity. This wasn't the glamorous America you see in movies. It was the "State Road 41" America. Swamps. Dead gators. Gas stations that look like they haven't seen a customer since the Reagan administration.
Eating Roadkill and Sleeping in Fields
One of the more stomach-churning segments involved a "dinner" consisting of a squirrel. They found it on the road. They cooked it. James May actually ate some.
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It’s these small, gritty details that made the Top Gear US Special stand out from their later, more polished adventures like the Vietnam or Africa specials. There was no backup fleet of Range Rovers at this point. They were genuinely stranded in the middle of nowhere, smelling like wet dog and burnt oil.
The Challenge That Went Horribly Wrong
The turning point happened at a rest stop in Alabama.
The producers gave them a challenge: paint slogans on each other's cars that would likely get the others punched. It was a "provocation test." In hindsight, it was incredibly reckless.
- Clarkson's Camaro was adorned with "Man-love is OK" and "Country and Western is Rubbish."
- Hammond's Truck had "Hillary for President" scrawled on the side.
- May's Cadillac was branded with "NASCAR Sucks."
They pulled into a gas station in Baldwin County. It took about three minutes for the atmosphere to turn toxic. A woman at the station noticed the slogans and started yelling. Then, a group of men in a pickup truck arrived.
The footage is shaky. You can hear the genuine panic in the voices of the crew. Stones were thrown. The film crew’s vans were pelted. The presenters didn't wait to see what happened next; they jumped in their beat-up cars and floored it.
Was it Staged?
People ask this all the time. "Was the Alabama gas station scene fake?"
If you watch the raw outtakes or talk to the crew members like Andy Wilman, the answer is a hard no. The fear on James May’s face as he tries to jump-start his stalled Cadillac while a truck circles him isn't acting. The crew had to cover the slogans with duct tape while speeding down the highway. They eventually ditched the cars near the Mississippi border because they were terrified of being followed.
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It wasn't a joke anymore. It was a narrow escape.
The Tragic Reality of Post-Katrina New Orleans
The final leg of the Top Gear US Special took a much darker, more somber tone. They arrived in New Orleans, which was still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The humor died.
The sight of the abandoned Ninth Ward, with houses still marked with the "X" codes from search and rescue teams, hit the presenters hard. Clarkson, usually the first to make a joke, was uncharacteristically quiet. They ended up giving their cars away to people who had lost everything in the floods.
It was a rare moment of genuine empathy from a show that usually prided itself on being irreverent and cynical.
Why the US Special Still Ranks as a Masterpiece
Most TV shows get worse as they get older. They get over-produced. The Top Gear US Special feels raw. It’s grainy. It’s chaotic.
It captured a specific moment in American history and British comedy. It showed the vastness of the US landscape—from the neon glow of Miami to the eerie silence of the bayou. It also highlighted the deep cultural divide between the "coastal" perception of the US and the reality of the rural South.
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Technical Failures and Triumphs
- The Camaro: It died. Often. The alternator gave up the ghost early on.
- The Cadillac: Remarkably resilient, though its suspension was essentially made of marshmallows.
- The Dodge Ram: Proved why it’s a staple of American roads, surviving the heat and the stones.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Travelers
If you’re planning on re-watching or even attempting a similar route (minus the offensive slogans, please), keep these things in mind.
First, check the season. Driving through the South in a car without AC in the summer is a health hazard. The trio did this in late 2006/early 2007, and they were visibly struggling with heat exhaustion. If you're doing a Southern road trip, aim for October or April.
Second, understand the geography. The route from Miami to New Orleans via Alabama is nearly 900 miles. Don't underestimate the sheer size of these states. You aren't just crossing borders; you're crossing ecosystems.
Third, respect the local culture. The "Alabama Incident" was a result of deliberate provocation. If you go to these places with an open mind and a bit of humility, you’ll find some of the most hospitable people in the world. The Top Gear guys went looking for trouble, and they found it.
Finally, if you’re looking to buy a cheap car for a road trip, don't buy a 90s Camaro. Seriously. Just don't. The door hinges sag, the interior falls apart, and you will end up stranded on the side of a highway in Mississippi.
The Top Gear US Special remains a blueprint for travel television. It proved that you don't need a massive budget or supercars to make compelling TV. You just need three guys, a lot of heat, and the willingness to drive into the unknown. Even if the unknown starts throwing rocks at you.